5: Thief

“Gone?! What do you mean gone!?” I asked surprised.

“They’re just gone! The bag’s empty!”

“How? I know you put the stones in. I saw them!”

“I don’t know… Gurrdur, I’m sorry. I swear we had the stones.”

“Well I can’t help you if you don’t bring me the stones.” Gurrdur said. “That was the deal. But nothing’s stopping you from getting more. That cave is full of them.”

“True,” Thunder replied. “But…”

“I’m sorry. No negotiations. We put the deal in place. I’m not changing it.”

“Thunder, let’s go.” I spoke up. “His mind is set. We should go again before it gets dark.”

Thunder thinks for a moment. “…You’re right, Alex. We should go.” With that being said, we leave the inn and start back towards Stony Cave. “I don’t get it. I had the stones. I knew I had them!”

“What about that lizard Pokemon?”

“The Scraggy?”

“Yeah. Him. Maybe when he bumped into you they fell out?”

“I’m fairly sure that I’d have seen that if it happened. But it doesn’t hurt to check.”

We return to the entrance to the inn where we come across two Timburrs that work for Gurrdur. “Hey guys.” I said. “Mind seeing if you can’t help us find the stones?”

“Actually…” The first one started. “We have something to tell you…”

“Those stones you’re looking for…” The second continued. “They were stolen.”

Thunder looked at them, shocked. “Stolen?! By who?!”

“The Scraggy…” I answered. “He pickpocketed us.”

“He what?”

“It’s a covert way that some thieves use to steal from people. You pretend to walk into them or pass behind them and then take something from them. If they’re skilled enough, they will never realize before it’s too late.”

“Well we need to get them back. We can’t let this sort of thing go unpunished.”

The first Timburr chimes in. “He was headed to Hazy Pass. If you’re fast you might catch him.”

“Well then what are we waiting for?! Let’s go!”

Mystery dungeon names sure are… well… accurate, actually. A perpetual thin layer of fog coated the caverns and cliff tops that made up this treacherous path. One wrong step and it will be the last step you will ever take in this life.

“Stay alert, Alex.” Thunder said. “Wouldn’t want you to fall.”

“Don’t worry. Falling is the last thing I plan on doing.”

We continue forward, battling the occasional hostile Pokemon. The ones here were much more dangerous than the ones back at the cave so having Thunder with me was a great help. It reminded me how thankful I was that I came across him. There is no way I’d have survived for longer that a day without his guidance. Once we’re done here I should probably tell him that.

We exit another cavern section and step onto another cliff top

“Alex!” Thunder said in a hushed voice. “There he is!” Sure enough, there he was. Just standing around.

“It looks like he’s waiting for someone. Probably to sell of those stones.”

“Probably some client he was hired by. So… How should we take him?” At that moment, I heard something. Footsteps. Coming from behind us. We couldn’t risk getting spotted. I grab Thunder and got him and me behind a rock, out of view of either of the two. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“Quiet. I think our ‘client’ has arrived.”

Who the “client” was neither of us could have expected. It was Gurrdur. I had to cover my mouth to avoid giving us away. Why is Gurrdur here? Why is he dealing with a thief? What’s going on here?

“Hey, Gurrdur.” The Scraggy said. “The lift went off without a hitch. They were none the wiser.”

“Excellent.” Said Gurrdur. “I just sent them on another run. They’ll be back in an hours or so with more stones.”

“How long will we do this?”

“We keep going until they stop falling for it.” Wait… What?! This whole thing was a ruse?! They lure us in promising to  give us what we asked for, but instead use us to give them easy money?! Unbelievable!

“Thunder, I say we show them a piece of our mind.” I tell him.

“That’s not exactly a good idea. We should just go and find someone else.” While his argument is logical, I’m too upset to just leave this matter unresolved. I leave the hiding spot and confront them.

“So, you just take advantage of those that ask for help? Is that what I gather from this?”

“What?!” Gurrdur exclaimed in surprise. “But you were off to Stony Cave! I saw it!

“You were listening in?” The Scraggy said “Then you know too much. We need to be rid of you.”  Oh… Thunder was right. I should have just left it alone. Gurrdur lifts his I-beam up, preparing to hammer me with it. However, Thunder shocks him, causing him to fall over stunned. I take advantage of this. I latch onto him with my vines and launch myself at him. However, rather that hitting him in the face, I was hit by his fist in the gut, sending me flying backwards.

Meanwhile, Thunder was fighting Scraggy. Scraggy tries to ram into Thunder with his head, but Thunder is quick on his feet and dodges expertly. He retaliates with his tail, smacking into Scraggy and disorienting him. Thunder then charges up a sphere of electricity and fires it as scraggy, who tries to dodge, though unsuccessfully. Thunder then prepares to deliver the knockout blow. Using his electric abilities, he summons a small thunderstorm that strikes the Scraggy, knocking him out.

Meanwhile I’m still trying to evade Gurrdur’s I-beam. But I spot a weak point. The wound from his back injury is exposed. I could probably do some damage by hitting that. Thunder, apparently thinking something similar, hits Gurrdur with a thunder wave, inducing a temporary paralysis. With Gurrdur unable to retaliate, I smack the wound with my vine. As expected, Gurrdur doubles over in pain. And with one strike from my tail to his face, he falls over unconscious.